– Stephen Hawking, the doomsday prophet & visionary physicist died yesterday
– Hawking’s five doomsday warnings highlight the need for a ‘Plan B’
– Hawking predicted A.I. may be “the worst thing” for humans
– Vocal critic of President Trump and warned about the risk of nuclear war
– “Nuclear war remains the greatest danger to the survival of the human race”
Photo by Simon Steinberger via Flickr
Stephen Hawking, the visionary physicist who died early yesterday at the age of 76, made five predicSaturday, March 17, 2018

– Buy silver and sell gold now – Frisby– Gold should cost 15 times as much as silver– Silver might have disappointed in short term – But it’s time to buy
– Editor’s note: Silver has outperformed stocks, bonds and gold over long term (see table)
For those of you with busy schedules who like to see arguments made in 280 characters or less, let me come straight to the point: the time has come to sell your gold and buy silver.
Got that?
Right. Now, those of you who are interested to know why I wouSaturday, March 17, 2018

Cycles, cycles everywhere. We’ve already discussed the current state of the U.S. business cycle, arguing that the expansion should last for a while, although it is more advanced than in Europe. However, business cycles aren’t the only creatures living in an economic zoo. They are simply the most popular within the modern macroeconomics. The post-war business cycles lasted, on average, almost 6 years. But economists distinguished also shorter cycles, called Kitchin inventory cycles, which are belSaturday, March 17, 2018

The amateur psychologist in me suspects that the more the USA heaps Russia with censorious opprobrium and punishments, the closer this floundering polity actually is to completely losing its shit. Friday morning’s front-page headline in The New York Times appears to have been written by Pee Wee Herman:
I can just hear Vlad Putin blowing a raspberry out of the Kremlin: “Nyah, nyah, nyah… I know you are, but what am I…?” We’re also informed today by that august journal that U.S. Accuses Russia inFriday, March 16, 2018

GOLD PRICES were unmoved Thursday by worsening tensions between Nato and Russia over the poisoning in Britain of a former spy, holding $5 below last week's finish to trade at $1318 per ounce as world stock markets also held flat overall.
Silver also slipped, trading 1% down for the week so far at $16.43 as major Western bond prices rose, edging interest rates down.
Russian bond yields rose as MoFriday, March 16, 2018

This report was originally published by Selco at The Organic Prepper
Editor’s Note: If a disaster is bad enough and lasts long enough, it isn’t going to take long before there is no food to be had. In this interview with Selco, he shares his real-life experiences and explains how people kept from starving to death when there was no food in the stores. ~ Daisy
How do you get food when there are no stores?
At the beginning of everything, most of the people did not have any significant “stash” of Wednesday, March 14, 2018

– Swedish authorities concerned cashless society is happening ‘too quickly’ and heading into ‘negative spiral’– Only 25% of Swedes paid in cash at least once a week in 2017, 36% never use cash– Cash usage in Sweden falling both as share of GDP and in nominal terms– Sweden may be world’s first economy to introduce a cryptocurrency, the e-krona– Cashless is not a disincentive for illegal drug trade, Guardian finds– Gold in safe jurisdictions will protect against raids on cash and wealth
The total Sunday, March 11, 2018

In the previous edition of the Market Overview, we explored the fascinating history of bull and bear cycles in both the U.S. dollar and gold. Since then, the idea of cyclicity doesn’t lead me to drop off, disrupting my sleep cycles. Let’s then dig into the topic. We start with the business cycles, as in the recent Gold News Monitor we wrote that “we are in the late stages of the economic cycle – as the cycle matures, volatility increases and investors start to buy more gold as a hedge.” Why do wSaturday, March 10, 2018

Bloomberg news has the effrontery to ask: Did Trump Just Start a Global Trade War? Although even MSNBC pit bull Rachel Maddow treats the President with more deference than Bloomberg.com, it’s still a fair question to ask. Judging from the way the stock market has flounced around recently, Wall Street’s answer to the question is an emphatic “maybe.” For once, the Street seems to have gotten it half-right. The bill Trump signed on Thursday will place tariffs of 25% and 10%, respectively, on Saturday, March 10, 2018

This article was written for Miles Franklin by Gary Christenson. Part one is available here.
The problem with debt is the creditor expects to be repaid.
Sovereign debt will be “rolled over,” never extinguished, and repaid with new debt. We delude ourselves and pretend total debt will increase forever (it can’t). That explains global debt exceeding $230 trillion today and official U.S. government debt approaching $21 trillion, with unfunded liabilities adding another $100 – $200 trillion. There aSaturday, March 10, 2018

That crusty ole rascal, Gov. Jerry Brown of California, seems to be enjoying his sunset journey into Civil War Two or maybe the destination is more like Blade Runner (since we know that history only rhymes but does not repeat). Anyway, it’s not a good place. The once-golden state begins to look something like what one federal official recently called — dare I say it? — a shithole.
A mix of used hypodermic needles, human feces, and other trash litters the streets and sidewalks in a large sectionFriday, March 9, 2018

DEEPCASTER LLCFORTRESS ASSETS PORTFOLIO | LETTERS, ALERTS & ARTICLESHIGH POTENTIAL SPECULATOR | HIGH YIELD PORTFOLIOPreserve & Enhance WealthInvestment & Geopolitical IntelligenceMarkets were triggered and shocked a few days ago when the yield on the Bellwether U.S. Treasury 10-Year Note shot up over 2.9% which resulted mainly from Fed Chair Powell’s hinting at the possibility of 4 rate hikes this year. Other soon-to-be-detonated Triggers will have Mega-Consequences for Key Market Sectors but wiFriday, March 9, 2018

An overt trade war has commenced. President Trump has fired the starting gun, setting in motion an election promise, part of his Make America Great Again undertaking. It is a blow squarely aimed against China, costing China some trade perhaps, but basically a loser’s last roll of the dice.The back story appears to be far deeper than some relatively minor tariffs on steel and aluminium would suggest. It comes after a prolonged period of shadow-boxing between America in the blue corner and Russia Friday, March 9, 2018

Do you have a plan to protect your precious metals?
You should. I’m going to tell you mine today.
I’m from Chicago.
The second city. The windy city. The city of big shoulders.
All of that sounds nice, but if you’ve live in Chicago, the phrase that is always top of mind is not so romantic.
You may have heard it before. It’s the phrase that was famously mouthed by Sean Connery in the movie “The Untouchables” when he said “THATS the Chicago Way.”
The Chicago Way.
If you live in Chicago and don’t knFriday, March 9, 2018

“So it begins.” This is what King Theoden said right before the Battle of Helm’s Deep in the Lord of the Rings. Fortunately, the army of Uruk-hai doesn’t threaten the kingdom of men. But something else – also dreadful – endangers us. Trade wars.
Are Trade Wars Good?
President Trump shook the world last week, saying: “(…) trade wars are good, and easy to win.” Wrong! Each economist will say that. It’s true that economists often argue with each other. People even said “two economists, three opinioFriday, March 9, 2018

Wednesday's trading session was overall bullish, as the main stock market indexes closed between -0.3% and +0.3% vs. their Tuesday's closing prices following much lower opening in reaction to Gary Cohn's resignation's news. The S&P 500 index closed virtually flat after bouncing off support level at 2,700. It currently trades around 5% below January 26 record high of 2,872.87. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.3%, and the technology Nasdaq Composite gained 0.3% on Wednesday.Technical outlooFriday, March 9, 2018

Sounds crazy, right? But from time to time crazy is something that does indeed take place, and these are the times when the prepared are much more profitable than those who were caught with their guard down. There is one analogy that points to the possibility of seeing such a big move in the price of crude oil. What if?
Yesterday, the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed that crude oil inventories rose less than analysts had forecast. Was that a bullish news? In our opinion, absolutely Friday, March 9, 2018

You’d like to buy some precious metals, but do you buy silver or gold? Is there really much difference between them other than the price?Both are “precious” metals, meaning their occurrence in the earth’s crust is rare. But when it comes to investing in gold vs. silver, there are 5 important distinctions to be aware of. These differences can supercharge your portfolio—or make it a victim.This article outlines the five differences to know about gold vs. silver, with special emphasis on investmentThursday, March 8, 2018

GOLD BULLION slipped against a weakening Dollar in London trade Wednesday, retreating $10 from a 1-week high at $1340 per ounce as talk of a global 'trade war' spurred by US President Donald Trump grew yet again following the resignation of his top economic advisor, Gary Cohn.
After new data showed US factory orders falling steeper than expected in January, private-sector payrolls provider ADP today said the world's largest economy added more joThursday, March 8, 2018

With his announcement last week of broad tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, President Trump launched what could be the first salvo of an all-out global trade war. Seemingly itching for a fight, he gleefully tweeted that “Trade wars are good, and easy to win.” It seems like Trump thinks the conflict will play out much like Ronald Reagan’s 1983 week-long invasion of Grenada rather than the more telling quagmires that unfolded in Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq. He’s wrong.
Apart from overestimWednesday, March 7, 2018